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" Theatre promotes us to give power to truth, to take risks and to advocate for new and diverse voices. Theatre reminds us that we are not alone. Not only are we sharing space and an experience with the artists who are performing, we are sharing the experience with fellow audience members."
- Acting Studio Chicago
Source: "5 Reasons Why Theatre Is Still Important": www.actingstudiochicago.com
" One day, every American theatre will be a safe, equitable, and inclusive workplace filled with arts practitioners who represent and reflect the wonderful diversity of the human tapestry, promoting union values. Equity’s values of equal opportunity, diversity and inclusion [involve] creating cultures that promote diversity, celebrate inclusion and foster a deep sense of belonging in Equity members, audiences and all people who engage with the American theatre. "
- Actors' Equity
Source: www.actorsequity.org
" Anti-racist theatre is not about doing all the things to end oppression at once; it’s about doing what you can. Small changes in behavior and thinking can have profound impacts on you and your organizational culture. For me, when directing, those small changes have manifested in changing my adherence to the myth that there wasn’t enough time to do the work, which resulted in pleasantries before rehearsal but no time set aside during rehearsal for people to acknowledge one another. Now every rehearsal I lead begins with a check-in to acknowledge what we’re bringing into the room; access needs are shared, and we honor the indigeneity of the land. Through session agreements we collectively define how we want to do the work. I find people appreciate having the space to bring the fullness of themselves to their art making.
"
- Nicole Brewer
Source: American Theatre, September 16, 2019 [ https://www.americantheatre.org/2019/09/16/why-equity-diversity-and-inclusion-is-obsolete/ ]
" There are so many ambiguous expectations of what a “Latino play” must do, and how it must represent its people, none of which match the reality of their lived experiences. But that’s what happens when people deal with “the Other”. They tend to want it to conform to preconceived notions, or to glamorize or exoticize it. I’m just interested in showing Latinos as people with the same capacities to succeed or fail in their lives like anyone else.
"
- Octavio Solis
Source: The Rumpus Interview with Octavio Solis. February 1, 2013 [ https://therumpus.net/2013/02/01/the-rumpus-interview-with-octavio-solis/ ]
" What is Diversity in simple words?
Diversity is about a rich mix of differences. It encompasses all the dimensions that make each person one of a kind, including ethnicity, race, age, style, gender, personality, beliefs, experiences, sexual orientation and more. Psychological, physical, and social differences that occur among all individuals. A diverse group, community, or organization is one in which a variety of social and cultural characteristics exist
What is Equity in simple words?
Equity levels the playing field. The guarantee of fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement for all, while striving to identify and eliminate barriers that have prevented full participation of some groups. Tackling equity issues requires an understanding of the root causes of outcome disparities within our society. Equity is the process of ensuring that processes and programs are impartial, fair and provide equal possible outcomes for every individual. Equity is promoting justice, impartiality and fairness within the procedures, processes, and distribution of resources by institutions or systems. Promoting equality should remove discrimination in all of the aforementioned areas. Bullying, harassment or victimization are also considered as equality and diversity issues.
Diversity vs Inclusion
Diversity doesn’t contradict Inclusion. The extraordinary happens at the intersection of inclusion and diversity. When we come together, the power of each one of us is magnified. By including and appreciating diverse perspectives and backgrounds, we create a stronger commitment, more innovative solutions and better results.
"
- "What is DEI & EDI? – The Complete Guide" on Diversity for Social Impact website
Source: https://diversity.social/what-is-diversity-and-inclusion/
" 5 Tips to Increase Diversity in Theatre:
1. Be proactive and participate in outreach to groups that represent actors of color, like Asian-American Performers Action Coalition or the African-American Artists Alliance, to bring them into the casting process.
2. If you’re a playwright, lyricist, book writer, or a creator, ask yourself if the race of your characters is relevant to the story, and if not, specify that.
3. Do your research on racism and internal bias before beginning the creative process. Understanding the history of these issues within the business will help create an inclusive and positive environment.
4. As an actor, be conscious of the roles you accept and be self-reflective about whether your racial or ethnic background or physical abilities would be appropriate for the part you’re playing.
5. Be careful of engaging in tokenism or promoting harmful or damaging caricatures. Truly color-conscious casting gives members of marginalized groups opportunities to play real, developed characters, not one-dimensional stereotypes.
"
- Playbill
Source: Playbill, June 23, 2017 [ https://www.playbill.com/article/5-steps-toward-making-theatre-more-diverse ]
" A diversity of voices is inherently innovative—the form of theatre changes depending on who is telling the story. By investing in diversifying the voices that are amplified through live theatre, we are contributing to the growth of the art form.
"
- Round House Theatre
Source: Round House Theatre statement on Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility [ https://www.roundhousetheatre.org/About/Equity,-Diversity,-and-Inclusion ]
" Ultimately, in order to have theatre reflect the world as it is, the industry must value the artists that it has historically marginalized, and start by redirecting resources to support these artists’ work and lives—a move that could both make theatre a more inclusive space for both artists and audiences.
"
- Emilyn Kowaleski
Source: "Reimagining A Diverse and Inclusive Theatrical Space," Media Diversity Institute [ https://www.media-diversity.org/reimagining-a-diverse-and-inclusive-theatrical-space/ ]
" Diversity is key to creativity. Really, how much does it cost to talk and engage with people who don’t look and sound like you, or are a different age, gender or skin color, or to work with artists and organizations who operate in different spheres to the one in which you operate?
"
- Lyn Gardner
Source: The Guardian Theatre Blog, Jan. 6, 2015 [ https://www.theguardian.com/stage/theatreblog/2015/jan/06/diversity-creativity-british-theatre-2015 ]
" In a backstage interview during “The Taming of the Shrew,” Julia exclaims, “Some people think the only way to do Shakespeare is to do it like the British do it, because the British have the answer to Shakespeare! So I would imitate all the British.” He launches into a plummy version of “Othello,” and continues, “But then afterward I started realizing that I didn’t have to do it like that. I could bring myself to it. I could bring my own culture, my own Puerto Rican background, my own Spanish culture, my own rhythms.” Shakespeare benefitted from what Julia brought to his verse, which the actress Rita Moreno describes as salero. “It just means he was spicy,” she says, in the documentary. “And sexy, and tall!”"
- Raul Julia
Source: New Yorker article by Michael Schulman, September 13, 2019
" Most plays have four, five vital moments in the play and the rest of the play is just getting to it. It’s just fill. I don’t know why, whether it’s just to create the sense that it’s real or that you have to spend two hours to experience the power (you have to see not just snapshots). But I find it very boring. I go to sleep when I see plays like that, and I go to sleep writing it. I would just actually fall asleep at the typewriter and would not be able to finish a scene written like that. What’s different now is that my work is much more emotional and connected to story. Because of that and the fact that the air around it is clean, it’s very strange. It reminds me a little bit of Edward Hopper’s paintings—where there’s something very real about the situation, it’s very mundane, but the air is always so clean you feel there’s something wrong."
- María Irene Fornés
" Musicals were never not cool to me."
- Lin-Manuel Miranda
Source: Financial Times, 2022
" The past isn't done with us. Ever, ever, ever,
"
- Lin-Manuel Miranda
Source: NPR's "Fresh Air," June 29, 2020
" Keep your hands moving. Writing is rewriting.
"
- August Wilson
" I write for myself, and my goal is bringing that world and that experience of Black Americans to life on the stage and giving it a space there.
"
- August Wilson
" All art is political in the sense that it serves someone's politics.
"
- August Wilson
Source: The Paris Review (The Art of Theater No. 14)
" You know what's the loudest noise in the world, man? The loudest noise in the world is silence.
"
- Thelonious Monk
Source: The Quotable Musician, from Bach to Tupac, by Sheila E. Anderson (Allworth Press)
" My process is that I will read the play a couple of times and then not do anything until I've spoken with the director, because, of course, there are 500 different ways a play can look--and still honor every word that's in those stage directions. I don't want to think about how it works until I know what the director is interested in, and if the playwright is around, what they're thinking about as they've written it. Then I go away and do my research.
"
- Rachel Hauck
Source: Interview with the set designer in Stage Directions magazine, August 2019
" Theater is a verb before it is a noun, an act before it is a place.
"
- Martha Graham
Source: Merce Cunningham: The Modernizing of Modern Dance, by Roger Copeland (Routledge Books)
" The theatre is supremely fitted to say: "Behold! These things are." Yet most dramatists employ it to say: "This moral truth can be learned from beholding this action.""
- Thornton Wilder
Source: http://www.quotecha.com/quotes/quotation_15961.html